Italian Scots are people of Italian descent living in Scotland. These terms may refer to people who are born in Scotland and of Italian descent. It can also refer to people of mixed Scottish and Italian ancestry. A recent Italian voter census estimated that there are 70,000 to 100,000 people in Scotland of Italian descent or Italian nationals, which is up to 1.9% of the overall Scottish population. Latest available figures from the

2011 UK Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

show there were 6,048 people born in Italy living in Scotland. This was up from 4,936 in 2001 and 3,947 recorded in 1991. In 2016, Ronnie Convery, secretary of the Italian Scotland charitable organisation and director of communications at the Archdiocese of Glasgow, asserted that a completely new dimension was being added to the Scots-Italians community. He said, “There has been a brand new migration over the past two years, and the biggest one we have seen in 100 years." Migration to Scotland from Italy has been predominantly from the provinces of Lucca and Frosinone. Additional provinces with fairly significant emigration to Scotland include Isernia,

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

, Parma, Latina, Massa-Carrara and

Pordenone Pordenone (; Venetian and fur, Pordenon) is the main ''comune'' of Pordenone province of northeast Italy in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The name comes from Latin ''Portus Naonis'', meaning 'port on the Noncello (Latin ''Naon'') River'. ...

. The Scottish Italian community settled mostly in the Glasgow area, most of whom are of Tuscan origin. The smaller Italian community in and around Edinburgh is predominantly of Lazian origin.

History

Arguably the first people from Italy to reach Scotland were the Romans in and around 40AD, although the modern nations of Italy and Scotland did not exist at the time and of course the Roman Empire was a cosmopolitan institution, with some Roman Emperors from the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. Still, at least some of the Romans in Scotland were probably from what is now Italy and their constructions in Scotland of the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...

and other, mostly military installations, provide some insight into the period. No Roman or Romano-Celtic identity appears to have existed in Scotland at this time and it was not until the end of the 19th century that any form of an Italian-Scots identity ever began to take shape. Many Italian-Scots can trace their ancestry back to the 1890s where their forefathers escaped drought,

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

and

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

in their homeland for a better life in Scotland; yet it was not until World War I that a sizeable population of Italian-Scots—over 4,000—began to emerge, with Glasgow hosting the third largest community in the United Kingdom. Since then, there has been a steady flow of migration between the two countries. Italy and the

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

involvement in World War II brought many hardships on Italians settled in Scotland - many families were separated as adult males were interned. The family members that were left behind were forced to cope with mistrust and

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

. Of those imprisoned many men found themselves held in Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. A number of others were employed in

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, at

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...

, to construct a barrier against Nazi U-boats. These men additionally constructed the Chapel of Lambholm from scrap metal and junk. Nowadays, this Chapel is one of Orkney's most popular tourist attractions. Today, Italian Scots can be found working in all manner of professions. However, a large proportion of the community have plied their trade in the catering industry, working in the

chip shops Fish and chips is a popular hot dish consisting of fried fish in crispy batter, served with chips. The dish originated in England, where these two components had been introduced from separate immigrant cultures; it is not known who created t ...

, ice-cream parlours, pizzerias and restaurants across Scotland. In Edinburgh,The Italo-Scottish Research Cluster (ISRC) aims to study Italian immigration in Scotland and promote relations between Scotland and Italy.

Notable Italian Scots

* John Amabile, interior designer * Ronni Ancona, impressionist and actress * Nicola Benedetti, violinist *

George Biagi George Biagi (born 4 October 1985 in Irvine, Scotland) is a retired Italy international rugby union. He represented Italy on 23 occasions. He was born in Scotland to Scots/Italian father and an Italian mother and later went to Italy to study. ...

, Rugby Player * Romana D'Annunzio, television presenter * Junior Campbell, musician and composer * Gianni Capaldi, actor * Lewis Capaldi (b. 1996), singer-songwriter and first cousin, twice removed of actor Peter Capaldi * Peter Capaldi (b. 1958), actor and director, best-known for Malcolm Tucker in '' The Thick of It'' and the Twelfth Doctor in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' *

Emilio Coia Emilio Coia LLD (13 April 1911, in Glasgow – 17 June 1997, in Clydebank) was a Scottish artist who made his name in the early 1930s as a widely published caricaturist. Biography Coia was born on 13 April 1911 in Glasgow. He was the son of Ital ...

, caricaturist *

Jack Coia Gillespie, Kidd & Coia was a Scottish architectural firm famous for their application of modernism in churches and universities, as well as at St Peter's Seminary in Cardross. Though founded in 1927, they are best known for their work in the ...

, architect * Paul Coia, television presenter * Angela Constance,

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

MSP *

Mario Joseph Conti Mario Joseph Conti (20 March 1934 – 8 November 2022) was a Scottish Catholic prelate who served as the Archbishop of the Metropolitan see of Glasgow, Scotland between 2002 and his retirement in 2012. Ordained to the priesthood in 1958, Co ...

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Archbishop of Glasgow * Nina Conti, actor, comedian, and ventriloquist * Tom Conti, actor * Adrienne Corri, actress * Simon Danielli, rugby union player * Nick De Luca, rugby union player * Richard Demarco, art impresario * Sophia Dussek, musician * Paul di Giacomo, footballer * Linda Fabiani,

MSP, and former Minister for Culture * Charles Forte, hotelier * Rocco Forte, hotelier *

Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...

, Racecar driver * Marino Franchitti, Racecar driver * Chris Fusaro, rugby player * Armando Iannucci, writer and satirist *

Keira Lucchesi Keira Lucchesi is a Scottish actress. Life and career Lucchesi's first professional role began in 2009, playing the role of Stella Walker in the BBC soap opera '' River City''. Some of the storylines relating to her character related to homel ...

, actress * Lou Macari, footballer and football manager *

Peter Marinello Peter Marinello (born 20 February 1950) is a Scottish former footballer. Career Hibernian Marinello started his career at Hibernian, and could play either as a centre forward or right winger. He was regarded as being talented enough there tha ...

, footballer * Oscar Marzaroli, photographer *

Dominic Matteo Dominic Matteo (born 28 April 1974) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender and midfielder in a 17-year professional career from 1992 to 2009. He made a total of 366 league and cup appearances, of which 276 were i ...

, footballer * Kirsty Mitchell, actress * Alberto Morrocco, artist *

Giovanni Moscardini Giovanni Moscardini (; 1897–1985), also known as Johnny Moscardini, was an Italian Scottish footballer who played as a forward for Lucchese, Pisa, Genoa and Italy. He was one of the earliest of the '' Oriundi''. While the majority of these fo ...

, footballer * Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor
of the University of Glasgow * Daniela Nardini, actress * Paolo Nutini, singer-songwriter * Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, sculptor * Carmen Pieraccini, actress * Paul di Resta, Formula 1 racecar driver * David Rizzio, private secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots * Marcus di Rollo, rugby player * Carla Romano, TV journalist *

George Rossi George Rossi (28 September 1961 – 5 January 2022) was a Scottish actor, best known for playing Duncan Lennox in '' The Bill'' from 1998 to 2003. Early life and education Rossi was born in Govan, Glasgow, on 28 September 1961. He was of I ...

, actor * Ricky Sbragia, footballer * Tom Sermanni, football coach *

Rachel Sermanni Rachel Sermanni (born 7 November 1991) is a Scottish folk music, folk musician from Carrbridge in Strathspey, Scotland, Strathspey. She has toured with a number of well-known folk and independent music, indie artists in the United Kingdom. Her f ...

, singer-songwriter * Sharleen Spiteri, singer-songwriter; guitarist; lead vocalist of the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

pop-rock band Texas * Ken Stott, actor * Philip Tartaglia, Archbishop of Glasgow *

Alexander Trocchi Alexander Whitelaw Robertson Trocchi ( ; 30 July 1925 – 15 April 1984) was a Scottish novelist. Early life and career Trocchi was born in Glasgow to Alfred (formerly Alfredo) Trocchi, a music-hall performer of Italian parentage, and Annie ...

, writer * Peter Vettese, musician * Jack Vettriano, painter *

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...

, Prince * Lena Zavaroni, singer

In popular culture

*'' American Cousins'' – A film about an Italian Scots family and their Mafia associated American cousins. *''

Strictly Sinatra ''Strictly Sinatra'' is a 2001 British drama film written and directed by Peter Capaldi and starring Ian Hart, Kelly Macdonald, and Brian Cox. The film was released in the United Kingdom by Universal Pictures. Synopsis A young Glaswegian-Ita ...

'' *'' Comfort and Joy'' – A film about a war between rival Italian ice cream companies in Glasgow. The film is a spoof of American gangster movies. *'' Soft Top Hard Shoulder''

References

*Pieri, J. (2005) 'The Scots-Italians: Recollections of an Immigrant' The Mercat Press {{Italian diaspora Italian diaspora in the United Kingdom

Scots Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: * Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland * Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland * Scoti, a Latin na ...

Immigration to Scotland Ethnic groups in Scotland

History

Notable Italian Scots

In popular culture

See also

References